Story highlights

(CNN)California has passed legislation raising its smoking age from 18 to 21 for most of its citizens.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a series of bills Wednesday, which also place new restrictions on where people can smoke and the sale of electronic cigarettes.

"[These laws] will save countless lives, reduce astronomical costs to the health care system, and cost very little because it uses existing enforcement mechanisms," said Senator Ed Hernandez, who authored the bill to raise the age of tobacco products. "Today was an enormous victory for not only this generation, but also for many generations to come who will not suffer the deadly impacts of tobacco."

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

"Cigalike" e-cigarettes look like a traditional tobacco cigarette, with a light at the end that glows when the user draws on it. The battery-powered device heats "e-liquid," containing nicotine, which is released in aerosol form.

Hide Caption

1 of 7

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

"Tank" e-cigarettes are heavily stylized and modifiable. They contain a larger cartridge of e-liquid and a battery pack that can be recharged, some by USB.

Hide Caption

2 of 7

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

"Electronic nicotine delivery systems" now take a variety of forms. E-hookahs have also been developed and have a strong cross-cultural market potential.

Hide Caption

3 of 7

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

A delegate at the "E-Cigarette Summit" smokes an e-cigar. In the e-liquid, nicotine is usually suspended in propylene glycol and glycerine.

Hide Caption

4 of 7

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

E-pipes work on the same principle. When someone draws on the device, it detects the air flow and heats the e-liquid in the cartridge to form a vapor.

Hide Caption

5 of 7

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

Vaporizers have also been adapted for marijuana. They have been developed for the medical market and contain cannabidiol (CBD), a method of pain-relief for glaucoma and migraines, while omitting THC, which causes the "high."

Hide Caption

6 of 7

Photos:E-cigarettes: Helping smokers quit or fueling a new addiction?

Nicotine gum and patches predate ENDS as a way for people to attempt to give up cigarettes.

Hide Caption

7 of 7

The American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network (the group's advocacy affiliate), the American Lung Association and the president of the California Medical Association all expressed support for the new law

The initial bill made it illegal for everyone under the age of 21 to buy tobacco products, but some argued if 18-year-olds can be drafted or volunteer to fight and die for their country, they should be allowed to buy tobacco products.

Read More

A stipulation was later added to exempt active duty military personnel 18 and over.

JUST WATCHED

Spike in teen e-cigarettes use

MUST WATCH

Spike in teen e-cigarettes use 02:20

The new laws also ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to anyone under 21 and restricts where they can be used in public places.

That stipulation was swiftly condemned by the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, which called the limitations to vapor products, some of which contain no tobacco, "counterproductive to public health."

"California took a step backwards today by reclassifying vapor products as tobacco," it said. "Our industry, which was built by former smokers that morphed into small- and mid-sized businesses, has always supported sensible legislation, such as prohibitions on selling to minors, reasonable licensing requirements and child-resistant packaging."

A study from the Institute of Medicine estimates that setting the minimum age at 21 nationwide, would result in nearly a quarter-million fewer premature deaths and 50,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer among people born between 2000 and 2019.